Ridley Pearson: Chain of Evidence (USA 1997)

From the Publisher:
Detective Joe "Dart" Dartelli made one critical mistake in his police career: He chose to ignore a piece of evidence in a case labeled a suicide that may have been a murder. The dead man was himself a vicious woman-killer who more than deserved his fate, but that ignored evidence pointed to Dart's former mentor, the brilliant forensic specialist Walter Zeller.

Now another suicide victim turns up -- the body of a wife beater -- and the evidence clearly shows that the death was self-inflicted... or does it? Zeller was the best at reading and understanding the forensics of a crime scene -- could he have manipulated it? Worse, why has Zeller disappeared?

It terrifies Dart to suspect that Zeller is in fact on some twisted vigilante crusade, but Dart also knows that if he's right, only he can stop it.

Chain of Evidence is the intense, heart-pounding story of student versus mentor in the playing field of forensic investigation. Ridley Pearson links computer technology, psychological intensity, and complex questions of police and human ethics to create this breathlessly paced, unputdownable thriller.

Ridley Pearson: Chain of Evidence. Hyperion Books, ISBN: 078688908X (February, 1997), 512 p., $6.99.

Ridley Pearson: Chain of Evidence (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
Police lieutenant Joe "Dart" Dartelli made one critical mistake in his police career. Three years ago, he chose to ignore a piece of evidence in a suicide case - a suicide that may have possibly been a murder - because the dead man himself a vicious woman-killer who more than deserved his fate. And the evidence that Dart ignored could have raised difficult questions about his former mentor, the brilliant forensic specialist Walter Zeller.

But another suicide victim turns up - the body of a wife beater - and Zeller has disappeared off the face of the earth. With nothing to tie the deaths together except some strange blood chemistry - and clear evidence that the death was self-inflicted - the case is officially closed. Dart knows that what's best for him is to just let things lie. There's no proof; only two unrelated suicides. Cleared cases. But Dart knows in his deepest heart that Zeller is on some twisted vigilante crusade. And it's going to happen again. And only Dart can stop it.

The strange hormonal imbalance in the victims' blood could be a coincidence, could be a drug side effect, and would be a murder weapon. But what really terrifies Dart is this: Zeller was the best at reading and understanding the forensics of a crime scene if he's now working on the wrong side of the law, can even the best of cops believe what the evidence tells them?

Ridley Person's command of forensic techniques, his knowledge of high-tech crime, and his skill at creating breathless pacing are at their best in Chain of Evidence, a book that links computer technblogy, psychological intensity, and complex questions of police and human ethics into an unputdownable thriller.

Ridley Pearson: Chain of Evidence. Hyperion Books, ISBN: 078686172X (October, 1995), 348 p., $22.95.